A week ago Tuesday we tackled another defective view of God that King Saul had. I was thinking more about Saul's disobedience when he didn't wait for Samuel to come, and went ahead and offered the sacrifice. Looking at his reasons, we read in 1 Samuel 13:11-12:
Saul said, "When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, I said, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the LORD.' So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering."
Saul reminds me here of those people who almost superstitiously "seek the favor of God" but have never surrendered to the Lordship of God. You know the kind who when you offer to pray for them say "Yeah, go ahead and pray for me.... I can use any help I can get." There is one word for this kind of behavior: Unbelief!
It seems that Saul has a very small part of his life that is somewhat interested in God but the rest of his life is all about Saul. However, that just won't work, because if God is the Lord of our life, Lord implies He has influence over the total being. You can't try to squeeze the Lord boxed into a small piece of your life. I remember a Youth Speaker years ago who said regarding our lives "If Jesus is not Lord of all, he's not Lord at all." Pretty strong, but true words.
We're called to love the Lord our God with ALL our heart, soul, mind and strength. Essentially that means all of all we are. When we think that we can try to squeeze God into some parts of our life and not others, we are decieved, and we have the recipe for a confused and disjoint life.
God declared the end of Saul's kingdom, and said "The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart." I hope that we could be people "after his own heart" and let God's reign touch every part of our being.
College-n-Beyond
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1 comment:
This is very true. Especially during the most difficult times in our life it is easy to forget to put God first. We try to fix our problems ourselves instead of giving them all up to God and relieving our stress. It is also an interesting passage to explore, 1 Samuel 13:11-12. I really like your take on it that Saul was concerned about himself first and then went to God for help. I also like the quote, "If Jesus is not Lord of all, he's not Lord at all." I found that to be very powerful.
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